A story about temporary death.
Inspiration
“15 years?!? But I’ve already been under for forty!”
In a world where death is temporary, how does a cemetery operate? With this premise, we explore how an employee at a graveyard interacts with the buried. I was intrigued by the idea of death as a temporary state, where folks still expire but only for a short amount of time. Perhaps there is more to explore here around awakening the dead for specific reasons like population control or adding to the workforce. I may come back to this idea in a future, long-form story.
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A story about motivation.
Inspiration
For some folks, money is the answer – they'll do absolutely anything to get more of it. For others, it's notoreity or fame or power. Motivation comes from many places, even amongst colleagues, friends, and family. I'm fascinated by these differences.
This story looks at two coworkers who work for the same cause but do it for different reasons. One of the most telling differentiators is time spent on work, much like Elle and Jared, the characters in this story. Do they remind you of someone in your life?
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A story about living underground.
Inspiration
Earth continues to get warmer and with it comes a devolving atmosphere. At some point in the future, humans will have to solve the problem of unsafe air. This story examines what happens when they are forced to live underground. How would emotions be tested with so many folks living in a finite space?
I chose to write this story as mini vignettes – short paragraphs chronicling the underground world over several years. The idea might work as a longer miniseries. Previously, I created a 12-part miniseries called "The Masters." The story takes place at a town's annual spelling bee that boasts a unique set of rules. Interested? Start with episode 1 here.
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A story about the fear of flying.
Inspiration
I do not like flying. This wasn't always the case, but as I've gotten older, my fear has only increased. This story looks at a character with a similar fear and a fellow passenger who tries to help.
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A story about a vicious legacy.
Inspiration
There are evil deeds, evil acts, and evil strategies... but how does evil live on? In this story, I explored the idea of an act so evil, it would deeply effect future generations.
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A story about connected bodies.
Inspiration
I was intrigued by Queen's lyric from "You're My Best Friend" – you know the one: "ooooo, you make me live!" It's not only a great song but a helpful launching pad for this story. What if another person truly made you live... or rather, kept you alive? This seems to be the scenario for the story's main characters.
How does one function when one needs another?
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A story about the power of help.
Inspiration
The power of meditation continues to grow throughout the world thanks to folks committed to spreading the word, an increase of digital meditative apps, and a growing focus on mental health. I, too, have found meditation to be helpful to reduce stress, practice mindfulness, and be present in the moment. Sometimes, it even helps my golf game! (Which could certainly use all the help it can get).
In this story, I imagined a scenario where mindfulness and breathing might help in the most dire – and unexpected – situations. Who knows how far the power of meditation can take us?
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A story about how other folks live.
Inspiration
Similar to the previous story, I was interested in how folks from different lifestyles come together in the workplace. Here, one girl is the voyeur to another's life, finding herself interested in what seems to be something out of a TV show. I'm constantly intrigued by the differences in day-to-day living can be for folks in the same geography and of similar age. Everyone's story is unique!
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A story about life stages.
Inspiration
I'm fascinated by the life changes that happen between the ages of 20 and 40. I often witness this at my day job, where I interact with folks across the spectrum of work life – just starting out all the way until pre-retirement. I find it interesting that in the relatively short amount of time between your early 20s and late 30s, your perspective, values, and lifestyle change drastically. This story, a conversation between co-workers, highlights those differences.
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Inspiration
There have been far too many examples in recent news about Americans choosing not to align themselves with other people or businesses based strictly on political party. Back a certain candidate or sitting representative? Well, that means everything about them must be wrong.
This story takes that concept to the extreme, where a character chooses political alignment over the most valuable resource.
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